Sneeze the day

Some key points from yesterday's HPA report on the swine flu pandemic:

• The majority of pandemic influenza cases continue to be mild. The cumulative number of deaths reported due to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in the UK is 135 (97 in England, 23 in Scotland, eight in Northern Ireland and seven in Wales).
• The weekly influenza/ILI consultation rates increased, and was above the winter baseline thresholds, in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• There was a total of 1200 new patients hospitalised in England with suspected pandemic influenza in the week from 22-28 October, an increase from 884 in the previous week.
  

Deaths have lept up from 119 last week and the number of those in hospital has also risen sharply and yet the pandemic in general remains mild. Swine Flu has turned into a strangely malevolent creature unfairly picking to exercise its wrath on a minority.